Bail denied for Farmington double homicide suspect

Tuesday

Sep 12, 2017 at 10:38 AMSep 12, 2017 at 10:44 AM

By Kyle Stucker kstucker@seacoastonline.com

DOVER — A judge has denied bail to Farmington double homicide suspect Timothy Verrill because he feels there is "strong" and "convincing" evidence, including a jailhouse confession, the man committed the crimes.

Verrill, 35, has been incarcerated without bail since he was charged in February with the Jan. 27 murders of Christine Sullivan, 48, and Jenna Pellegrini, 32, at 979 Meaderboro Road in Farmington. For defendants such as Verrill who are charged with crimes that come with a life sentence, the state law allows bail be denied in cases where prosecutors can show “the proof is evident or the presumption great."

Verrill’s attorney filed for a bail hearing in Strafford County Superior Court to challenge that evidence. Following two full days of testimony and cross-examination, Judge Steven Houran concluded Monday the state has met its burden and that Verrill should be denied bail to avoid a possible flight risk.

“Here, the circumstantial evidence is clear and strong and is plainly sufficient to warrant a conclusion by clear and convincing evidence that the proof that, as charged, Mr. Verrill committed the murders of Ms. Sullivan and Ms. Pellegrini is evident,” wrote Houran. “The circumstantial evidence is also such that the inference of guilt drawn from those circumstances is strong, clear, and convincing, and thus that the presumption of Mr. Verrill’s guilt is great.”

In Houran’s nine-page ruling, he wrote the state still must prove beyond a reasonable doubt in court that Verrill murdered Sullivan, a woman with whom he was allegedly dealing narcotics, and Pellegrini, a friend of Sullivan who had recently moved into Sullivan’s 979 Meaderboro Road residence.

Until then, Verrill is presumed innocent.

Houran’s ruling wasn’t released to the public Monday because the information was embargoed, at the request of the state Attorney General’s office, to allow family members time to review the document.

Associate Attorney General Jane Young declined comment on the ruling because of the “ongoing litigation” in the case. Melissa L. Davis, Verrill's public defender, couldn't be reached for comment.

Houran wrote in his ruling the proof and presumption provided by the state’s circumstantial evidence, which includes testimony from State Police and blood-stained items with Verrill’s fingerprints on them, is strengthened by the fact that Verrill also allegedly confessed to the murders to another inmate at the Carroll County House of Corrections, where Verrill was incarcerated between June 21 and July 24.

The inmate told police that Verrill, who is currently housed at the Strafford County House of Corrections, allegedly claimed he murdered two women by stabbing them multiple times.

An autopsy concluded Sullivan suffered eight stab wounds, skull and nasal fractures, lacerations to the back of her head, and defensive wounds. Pellegrini suffered 43 stab wounds as well as skull and nasal fractures, but no defensive wounds, according to her autopsy.

State Police Sgt. Brian Strong has testified Verrill allegedly told the inmate he used a shovel, that he tried to hide the fact that his clothing had gotten bloody, that he placed the women in tarps, that at least one of the women was a “rat,” that police won’t find his prints on knives they recovered from the home, and that he planned to pin the deaths on Sullivan’s boyfriend, 979 Meaderboro Road homeowner Dean Smoronk.

“Ordinarily, absent some indicia of reliability beyond the word of the fellow inmate, the court views such jailhouse confessions with skepticism,” Houran wrote in his ruling. “Here, there is such an indication that the information (the inmate) provided is reliable, because it contained details which … were not at the time of the confession known to the public.”

While the state’s evidence, aside from Verrill’s jailhouse confession, is circumstantial, Houran said there is “no legal distinction between the weight of circumstantial evidence as compared to direct evidence, and circumstantial evidence, standing alone, can be sufficient to prove the commission of a crime.”

No additional court proceedings had been scheduled for Verrill as of Tuesday. Verrill hasn't yet been indicted, although as of Tuesday court documents still showed Sept. 15 as an anticipated indictment date.

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